China crackdown on Internet: 3 years in prison if your post is viewed 5,000 times

On September 16, 2013, Qiushi Theory, a periodical on political theory run by the Chinese Communist Party Central Party School and the CCP Central Committee, cheered because China’s Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procurator issued a joint Internet control guideline. According to the guideline, those who spread “defamatory” information on the Internet face up to three years in prison if their posts are viewed 5,000 times or are forwarded 500 times.

“Currently, the Chinese government’s performance is highly acclaimed around the world. This is a fact that even the public opinion in the West has difficulty denying. Excessive criticism against the government is contrary to reality.”

On August 29, 2013, People’s Daily published an article calling for the “fire” of rumors on the Internet to be extinguished. The article referred to the frequent users of the Internet who have recently been imprisoned as “the mice running on the streets that everyone wants to whack with a stick.”

According to the article, those who spread “rumors” frequently on the Internet create chaos in the name of “anti-corruption,” “fairness,” and “freedom.”

“What they talk about is sanctimonious, but what they do is dirty and shameful.”